The present invention relates generally to welding-type systems and, more particularly, to a support system for compressed gas tanks, or gas cylinders, that are used with welding-type systems.
Various welding-type systems include a gas cylinder that supplies a compressed gas for use during a welding-type process, such as welding, plasma cutting, gouging, and the like. For example, during metal inert gas welding (MIG) or tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding processes, gas cylinders are used to supply an inert arc-shielding gas. On the other hand, during gouging processes and plasma cutting processes, gas cylinders are used to supply compressed air. Regardless of the particular gas supplied or the specific process being performed, the gas cylinders are generally large and heavy. For example, some gas cylinders, when full, can weigh in excess of 150 pounds.
When used with welding-type systems, the gas cylinders are typically supported on a tray or pan that is arranged near the rear of the welding-type system. In some cases, the tray or pan is part of a cart system that is separate from the welding-type device. However, it is typically preferable to mount the tray to the welding-type device. In this case, the welding-type device and tray are often supported on wheels that facilitate repositioning of the welding-type device and gas cylinders.
However, while elevating the gas cylinders on trays associated with the welding-type device provides a convenient storage location and, in some cases, facilitates movement of the welding-type device and gas cylinders, the elevated position adds significant labor to the process of replacing gas cylinders. In particular, an operator must, typically, “bear hug” the gas cylinder and lift the gas cylinder onto or off from the elevated tray. While some systems have been developed that bring the location of the tray closer to the ground in an effort to reduce the strenuous process of moving gas cylinders onto and off from the tray, these systems still require an operator to lift the gas cylinder from the ground to the height of the tray, typically, using a “bear hug” or similar process.
In an effort to further reduce the amount of physical labor required to change gas cylinders, some systems include mechanical lift systems that raise and lower the tray to facilitate loading and unloading. However, these mechanical lift systems include multiple moving parts and, thus, are prone to wear and damage caused by the repeated impact of gas cylinders being loaded onto and removed from the tray.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a gas cylinder storage system that reduces the physical burden placed on the operator during the process of loading and unloading gas cylinders onto and off from the storage system and does not include moving parts that are susceptible to wear and damage.